“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace
good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)

This proclamation by the host of angels
is a prophecy of God’s purpose to bring about the condition of peace and
sinlessness among men. We were horrified
at the tragic events of September 11 in the year 2001, especially the
terrorist’s attack of our government buildings in New York. We sympathize with those who lost their loved
ones. We weep with those who weep, and
mourn with those who mourn. What we
witnessed is an extreme example of man’s inhumanity to man. However, the results of these terrorists
attack had some good results in bringing some to their knees in prayer. They were making earnest and heartfelt
prayers and not just uttering repetitious words to no effect. We also see people pulling together to give
comfort and help to those who lost so much, and providing for the police and
fire workers. They are also patient with
the inconveniences and of losing some of their former privileges to which they
were accustomed.

But we know the Lord permits such
calamities for a reason, as He overrules for our good. “And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his
purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Also for the world
in the Kingdom (Acts 17:31). “They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) That is the condition of the Kingdom on
earth. Our prayers will be answered as
we have prayed: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.”

What should we do now? We should seek refuge - not the refuge of armaments and antibiotics, but
the true refuge of God. “The eternal God
is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and he shall thrust out
the enemy before thee.” (Deut. 33:27) But
I will sing of thy powers; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning:
for thou has been a defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.” (Psa.
59:16) We should lift up our heads and
look forward to the Kingdom of righteousness.
After the rod of destruction has accomplished its work, then will the
hand that smote be turned to heal, and the people will return to the Lord and
He shall heal them, giving them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning
and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Jer. 3:22; Hosea 6:1;
Isa. 2:3 and 61:1-3). Finally “take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all stand.” (Eph. 6:13)

2001 IN REVIEW:

The September 11 attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The United States responds
by attacking Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden.

U.S. economy enters
recession for the first time in a decade.

Anthrax scare grips nation;
five people killed by the disease.

Stock markets go through one
of the worst years in history.

George W. Bush is
inaugurated 43rd president of the United States.

Vermont Sen. James Jeffords
party switch changes control of the U.S. Senate.

The world’s first artificial
hearts made of plastic are implanted in a few patients.

IN FINANCE

January 1, 2001 we were
expecting a computer glitch that could have fouled up everything from factories
to airlines. That would have been simple
if that were all that happened.

2001 will be a year to remember. The stock market was soft. The economy was on a decline. Then on September 11th in New York
the most brutal attack was launched on civilians.

The Federal Reserve has cut investment
rate eleven times in eleven months.
Rates are the lowest they have been in 20 years. The Feds have announced that we are in a
recession. They gave all taxpayers a
cash refund to get the economy going.
Gold is not the standard currency of the world as it once was.

Employee layoffs are at an all time
high. All types of business are filing
for bankruptcy. Enron Corporation is the
largest corporation in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy taking billions of
dollars from investors’ funds. In
November Enron disclosed that the profit it had reported to shareholders and
government regulators during the past four years had been overstated by 20
percent or $586 million. The stock
dropped from more than $90 per share to less than a dollar.

The auto industry is
selling cars with no down payment and finance is available for three to four
years at no interest.

War and recession create
extreme uncertainty. The chief economist
for the fourth largest bank forecast that unemployment rates would go over
6%. Consumer installment debt is over
21% of disposable personal income.
Interest rates will go down another quarter point in the first quarter
and then ease back up some in the third quarter. It will take a while for the economy to get
back on track.

No one can forecast what
2002 will bring. The war could spread or
it could just move to the Middle East.

In this Time of Trouble we
need to watch for the “times and seasons” of the Lord. “But of the times and the seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you.” (1 Thes. 5:1)

LATIN AMERICAN &
CARIBBEAN NEWS TO NOTE: “Haiti coup
suspect must go: QUITO, Ecuador - A former police officer accused of plotting this
week’s assault on Haiti’s presidential palace will be deported from Ecuador
within days, authorities said Friday.
Guy Philippe, accused of masterminding an apparent attempted coup
against Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide, traveled this week to Ecuador
but was detained at Quito’s airport upon request by Haitian authorities.”

“Car bombs kill passers-by: LA PAZ, Bolivia - Two car bombs exploded outside police headquarters
in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz on Friday, killing three people and
wounding two dozen others. Most of those
injured were pedestrians.”

“Navy told to follow
rules: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico has told the U.S. Navy that it should
show it is complying with environmental regulations before it resumes bombing
exercises on the island of Vieques next month.
In a letter to the Navy’s southeast region, the U.S. territory’s
Planning Board said the Navy is holding its bombing exercises on Vieques without
a pollution-discharge permit and in violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act.”

“Prison moves U.S.
inmate: LIMA, Peru - U.S. citizen Lori Berenson, sentenced to a 20-year
term for aiding a leftist rebel group, has been moved from a top-security Lima
prison to a prison in northern Peru for disciplinary reasons, officials said.”

“Mission Migrants
return: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - More than 200 Haitian migrants missing for more
than a month and feared drowned after they left in two crowded sailboats for
Florida have been returned to their homeland from Cuba, a Haitian government
official said Friday. One boat carried
63 passengers, and the other had at last 150.
Relatives feared the ships had capsized.”

U.S. NEWS TO NOTE: “City to privatize schools: PHILADELPHIA - State and city leaders
reached agreement Friday on a state takeover of the troubled Philadelphia
school system as part of an ambitious plan to install a private company to help
run the district and dozens of its worst schools. The move to bring in Edison Schools Inc. would
be the nation’s biggest experiment in school privatization.”

“Drug maker ordered to
pay: CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A jury Friday ordered Warner-Lambert Co. to pay $43
million in Compensatory damages to a woman who said her liver was destroyed by
its recalled diabetes drug, Rezulin. The
state court jury then began considering whether to order punitive damages
against the drug maker, a unit of Pfizer Inc.
Lawyers for Margarita Sanchez, 63, said the company lied to the Food and
Drug Administration about the drug’s dangers when it sought approval to sell
Rezulin.”

“Robbery a possible
motive: CONCORD, N.H. - Robbery was the motive in the slaying of two
Dartmouth College professors who were stabbed to death in their home,
prosecutors said Friday. But the jury
for Robert Tulloch will be asked to consider two theories of first-degree
murder - that it was ‘purposeful,’ with no motive
specified, and that it was committed during a robbery, Attorney General Philip
McLaughlin said. A second youth has pled
guilty.”

Abu-Jamal ruling draws
fire: PHILADELPHIA - Prosecutors are appealing a federal judge’s ruling
overturning the death sentence of convicted police killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. The notice of intent to appeal freezes
Tuesday’s order from U.S. District Judge William Yohn, who said Abu-Jamal
deserves a new sentencing hearing because of errors in the Jury instructions
given at his 1982 trial. Yohn upheld
Abu-Jamal’s conviction.”

“Man sentenced in scam: RICHMOND, Va. - After persuading ailing patients
or their relatives to dole out thousands of dollars for fraudulent cancer
treatments, John Paul Dyke was sentenced to nine years in prison. Michael Halpern of Key West said Dyke told
Halpern’s seriously ill wife that her husband didn’t love her and she should go
with him to Richmond for cancer treatments.
After a tip from Halpern, authorities found 18 people had paid Dyke more
than $300,000, including 12 who died.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 22, 2001)

“Teen sentenced for plotting: ELMIRA, N.Y. - A teenager who smuggled guns and bombs into his
high school for a planned killing spree was sentenced Monday to eight and
one-half years in prison under a plea deal.
Jeremy Getman, 19, admitted he intended to shoot students and teachers
and toss bombs into crowds when he brought weapons to Southside High School on
Valentine’s Day, but said he realized he couldn’t kill innocent people. He surrendered peacefully after students
notified officials that he had passed someone a threatening note.”

“Ex-bank official gets
prison: BLUEFIELD, W.VA. - A former bank official was sentenced Monday to more
than 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $515 million in restitution for his
role in one of the nation’s largest bank failures. Michael Graham, who pleaded guilty earlier
this year to embezzlement and money-laundering charges, was given the maximum
sentence. The First National Bank of
Keystone was declared insolvent September 1, 1999, after federal authorities
concluded that up to $515 million of the bank’s reported $1.1 billion in assets
had vanished.”

“Racing guru held in
slayings: SANTA ANA, Calif. - The man known as the ‘Father of Supercross’ in the
1970s pleaded not guilty Monday in the slaying of racing legend and former
business partner Mickey Thompson and his wife 13 years ago. Michael Goodwin 56 was ordered held without
bail. Thomason, 59, and his wife, Trudy,
41, were shot to death in 1988 in the driveway of their home. The pair had a falling out that led to a
series of lawsuits and a $514,000 judgment in Thompson’s favor that helped
force Goodwin into bankruptcy.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 18, 2001)

“Mossad Warned U.S. of
Impending Attack: Senior Israeli security
officials revealed last week that Israel’s Mossad had recently alerted American
intelligence to the possibility of major terrorist attacks by Middle Eastern
elements against key building and installations in the United States. (reported
Israeli daily, Maariv)

“The Italian newspaper II
Foglio reported last week that Israel was the only country to warn the U.S.
that Middle Eastern terrorism was about to hit the U.S.

“’Israel and the U.S. have
been fighting terrorism side by side even before the forming of this coalition,
and it goes without saying that it will be active now as well.’

“Israel’s position is that
any coalition for an international war against terrorism must have the broad
aim of battling all terrorism worldwide - including Palestinian
terror against Israel.

“The defense establishment
in Israel has received general warnings regarding plans by terrorist
organizations to perpetrate mass-casualty attacks within Israel. It has not yet received warning of any
specific planned attack, but both the IDF and the Shin Bet security service
believe that the success of Tuesday’s September 11 attacks in the U.S. will
encourage Palestinian terror organizations to attempt strikes of similar
proportions in Israel.”

(Bible Light International, October 2001)

WORLD NEWS TO NOTE: Priests take up self-defense: LONDON - Beneath the white collar,
add a black belt: Some British priests are taking martial-arts classes to
protect themselves from irate parishioners and other dangers of modern
life. A group of Church of England
priests is enrolling in tae kwon do classes after researchers found that
members of the clergy were more likely to be attacked than probation officers
or doctors. A two-year survey of 1,300
clergy in southeast England by the University of London found that 12 percent
had been assaulted, 22 percent threatened with violence and 70 percent verbally
abused.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 18, 2001)

“Canada fights car
suicides: OTTAWA - Canada’s Ministry of Transportation, looking for
ways to commit suicide in cars, is considering ordering auto makers to equip
all cars with special suicide-resistant tailpipes. Transport Canada, in a discussion paper
posted on a government Web site Friday, said suicide-resistant tailpipe,
available at an extra cost of about $2.50 per car, would prevent people from
attaching a hose to the end of the exhause, while hidden venting would let
fumes escape under the vehicle if a hose or bag were taped to the outside lip.”

“Iraq blames U.N. for
deaths: BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials said Friday that more than 1.6
million people died as a result of economic sanctions imposed on Baghdad since
1990 by the United Nations, the state Iraqi News Agency said. The agency was quoting from a letter sent
from Iraq’s U.N. mission to Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United
Nations. It blamed the rise in the death
rate on delays by U.S. and British representatives to the U.N. Security
Council’s sanctions committee in approving the purchase of medicine and medical
equipment.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 29,
2001)

TERRORISM DIGEST: “British troops could arrive in Afghanistan
within days: LONDON - Britain will lead an international peacekeeping
force in Afghanistan, and the first troops could be on the ground when a new
interim Government takes power this weekend if agreement is reached with local
leaders, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday.
Addressing parliament, Blair said ‘Britain is willing, in principle to
lead such a force,’ which will initially help provide security in the Afghan
capital, Kabul, but could expand its role to other parts of the country.”

“Widow, others remember
Green Beret killed by bomb: ARLINGTON,
Va. - Staff Sgt. Brian ‘Cody’ Prosser, 28, one of
three Army Green Berets killed by an errant U.S. bomb in Afghanistan, was
recalled Monday as ‘the best of the best’ who gave his life doing what he
loved: serving his country. ‘Cody is a
hero, and I will love and miss him for the rest of my life,’ said his widow,
Shawna, after his burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Prosser of Frazier Park, Calif., was killed
December 5.”

“Liberty Island will
reopen; statue stays shut for now:
NEW YORK - Liberty Island, home of the Statue of
Liberty, will reopen to visitors Thursday for the first time since terrorists
leveled the World Trade Center across New York’s harbor. But the statue will remain closed at least
until 2002, the National Park Service said Monday.”

“Immigration officials
hold Muslim for visa violation:
DETROIT - A Muslim who serves on the board of a group
suspected of funding terrorism has been detained by federal immigration
officials on a visa violation, his attorney said Monday. Attorney Ashraf Nubani said his client, Rabih
Haddad, was detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service on Friday,
the same day federal agents raided the offices of Global Relief Foundation of
Bridgeview, Ill. Haddad is on the
group’s board of trustees.”

“Fake grenade from bag
delays plane for hours: SAN DIEGO - A woman boarded a plane with a security screener’s
bag that held a fake grenade, which rolled on the floor and delayed takeoff
more than three hours. Authorities said
they don’t know how Lolita Austria got the bag Sunday and added that they were
conducting a petty-theft investigation.
Austria, 57, of Rochester, N.Y., was questioned and released.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 18, 2002)

IN RELIGION

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES: “Proselytizing Physician?: Patient-doctor privilege does not work both ways, it
seems. Dr. Karl De Vries, an 18-year
veteran of the Maccabi Health Fund, had his contract terminated last week on
the grounds that he has ‘begun discussions in the clinic unrelated to medical
practice.’ Specifically, De Vries, a
Jehovah’s Witness, is accused of trying to spread his faith among the ailing - at least, by the ultra-Orthodox lobbying groups.

“When first presented by the
ultra-Orthodox demand that De Vries be dismissed, Maccabe refused, but was then
faced with the prospect of boycott by this sizable sector, which could ruin it
financially given the tough competition from the Clalit and Meuchedet health
funds. Now Maccabi has both fired De
Vries and cut off all contact with him.

“’For 18 years I was a wonderful doctor
for Maccabi,’ De Vries said last week. ‘Suddenly, now I’ve become a sacrifice
on the altar of the Maccabi management, which was afraid of losing the
ultra-Orthodox public.’

“MK Yossi Paritzky of the secularist
Shinui Party demanded that Maccabi rescind its decision, or else face similar
pressure from the non-religious public.

“Maccabi medical director Alik Aviram said
in response: ‘This is not a case of
yielding to ultra-Orthodox pressure. Dr.
De Vries acted in contravention to all medical ethics by distributing Jehovah’s
Witness flyers to his patients. As far
as I’m concerned, this is only one step away from sexual harassment.’” (The Jerusalem Post, September 28, 2001)

This is a good example of overstepping the
bounds of propriety. The good doctor
should not have been using his employers’ time to spread his beliefs - especially to ill people. To give him the benefit of a doubt, it seems
that he himself was a newly proselytized Jehovah’s Witness, and perhaps acted
rashly in the first fervor of battle.
But the fact remains that he was out of order. He probably thinks he is being persecuted for
his beliefs, but he is not. He is
suffering for his improper acts.

The Witnesses have told their followers
that they are the only group left that emanates from what Pastor Russell
taught. We found this out from one of
the Witnesses who came to our door. We
told her that at least there is one group that believes Brother Russell was
That Servant. We told her where they
could contact this group. And we believe
Brother Russell was That Servant and believe all he taught, with Scriptural
support: the six volumes, and other books as well as the reprints.

THE LAYMENS HOME MISSIONARY
MOVMENT: Brother Paul Johnson, who
emanated from Pastor Russell’s group, founded the LHMM. When he died Brother R. G. Jolly, a self-claimed
crown-loser of the class known as Great Company, described in Revelation 7:9 as
“great multitude,” and stand before the throne.
The saints are on the throne. See
Jude 3, which says, “It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort ye
that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto
the saints.” After Brother Jolly became
Executive Trustee, he presented several things that Brothers Russell and
Johnson did not teach. Brothers Russell
and Johnson taught the Epiphany and the Time of Trouble are the same. When one ends the other ends. The LHMM teach what Brother Jolly taught - not what Brothers Russell and Johnson taught. If anyone wants to know more about it, they
can write us and we will tell them.

“BATTLE OVER TEN
COMMANDMENTS MOVEMENT IS HEATING UP:
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -On a recent Sunday, 3,000
people showed up at a downtown sports arena for a Ten Commandments rally that
had the fervor of an old-fashioned tent revival. Declaring themselves Christian soldiers in a
war against evil, they prayed, waved American flags and poured thousands of
dollars into collection buckets.

“It was a carefully crafted scene that is
being played out across America as Christian conservatives energized by the
spiritual revival brought on by the September 11 terrorist attacks campaign to
post the Ten Commandments in public buildings throughout the country.

“In what some experts say is developing
into one of the biggest First Amendment challenges in decades, Christian conservatives
have declared war on civil libertarians for the soul of America. A grass-roots movement that began three years
ago in the Bible Belt South has intensified in recent months, with dozens of
efforts under way to defy U.S. Supreme Court rulings prohibiting school prayer
and the placement of religious symbols in public buildings.

“The rallies blend patriotism and religion
to raise money and garner support for local officials who have voted to erect
Ten Commandments plaques and monuments in the lobbies of city halls, county
buildings and courthouses.

“’September 11 was a point of demarcation
for a renewed interest in this movement,’ says Charles Wysong, president of Ten
Commandments Tennessee, the advocacy and fund-raising group that sponsored the
Chattanooga rally.

“’There is a defiance and an unwillingness
on the part of God’s people to be ruled by groups like the ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union. Everyone is tired of their feeble arguments,
including the courts, and we’re not listening to them anymore,’ says Wysong.

“Across the nation, clergy are leading
student assemblies in prayer, schools are requiring a moment of prayer, and
government meetings are opening with religious devotionals. Several local governments face lawsuits for
erecting the Ten Commandments in public venues.

“Hamilton County Commissioners in
Chattanooga voted on September 16 to display the Ten Commandments in the county
building and two courthouses. In
Ringgold, Ga., a town of 2,000 people near the Tennessee border, officials
recently placed the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and an empty frame with
the engraving: ‘This is for those of other beliefs’ on display in City
Hall.” (By Dahleen Glanton, National
Correspondent, December 22, 2001)

“RANKS OF NONRELIGIOUS RISE: A study of American religious identification shows
that the majority of adult adherents continue to be tied to protestant and
other non-Catholic denominations, but the numbers of those who say they are
non-Christians or have no religion have risen substantially.

“The American Religious Identification
Survey, 2001, was released by the Graduate Center of the City University of New
York.

“The survey found that 52 percent of
American adults are Protestant, 24.5 percent are Roman Catholic and 14.1
percent are not affiliated with a religion.
Researchers determined that 1.3 percent of adult Americans described
their religion as Jewish and 0.5 percent as Muslim.” (Orlando Sentinel, November 24, 2001)

“CHURCHES TRY TO FORM ORGANIZATION: WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Council of Churches is going to try to
form a new organization that would for the first time include all major
branches of U.S. Christianity, its board decided Tuesday.

“If successful, the new ecumenical body
could spell an end to the council, which is now made up of mainline Protestant,
black Protestant and Orthodox denominations.

“Most Christians in the United States are
currently outside the council, in the Roman Catholic Church and in Evangelical
or Pentecostal groups.

“Under the purposely vague plan approved
by the 50-member council board, a task force will hold preliminary talks with
Catholic, Evangelical and Pentecostal leaders, invite them into a joint process
and propose next steps to the council’s national assembly in November.

“The project faces numerous obstacles,
both ideological and practical.
Conservative Protestants - Evangelicals, Pentecostals
and Southern Baptists - have been indifferent or
hostile toward the council, often accusing it of theological liberalism and
promoting political causes to the neglect of spiritual ones.

“The U.S. Catholic Church decided a
generation ago not to enter the council, partly because Roman Catholics in this
country alone exceed the 50 million members in the council’s 35 denominations.

“However, since the Second Vatican
Council, Catholic bishops have been free to join cooperative bodies with other
Christians and have done so in 55 other countries.

“Participants at the council’s 50th
anniversary meeting last November said it was time to give birth to a new
ecumenical future, noted the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, chief executive of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a current National Council member. ‘I find this extremely helpful and hopeful,’
he said of the proposal.

“The future existence of the council was
not discussed by the board. ‘Sometimes
an organizational structure has to be willing to die. We have to be willing to entertain that,’
said the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, chief executive of the Reformed
Church in America, part of the task force that will contact the other Christian
groups.

“The Rev. Robert Edgar, the council’s
chief executive, sent notice of the proposal two weeks ago to the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of
Evangelicals. He plans an early meeting
with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest U.S. Protestant denomination.

“In another action at the council board
meeting, officials settled a major internal dispute, granting independent
financial control to its relief agency, Church World Service. The agency, which brings in 85 percent of
council revenues, has been dissatisfied with the cost and quality of council
administration. It was during
discussions of the Church World Service problem that the idea of a new
pan-Christian group first arose.
[“Behold they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever
shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.” (Isa. 54:15)]

“The council has struggled through a
period of financial turmoil. Following a
$4 million budget deficit for 1999, Edgar expressed confidence that anticipated
special gifts, staff cuts and other economies would stabilize finances by the
end of 2000.” [“Behold, they shall
surely gather together, but not by me.” (Isa. 54:15] (By Richard N. Ostling)

CATHOLICS:
“POPE APOLOGIZES FOR CLERGY’S ABUSE:
ROME
- Pope John Paul II offered an apology
Thursday for sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy, saying it has caused the
victims ‘great suffering and spiritual harm’ and has damaged the church.

“The pontiff tucked his one-paragraph
apology into a 120-page message to Catholics in Oceania on the wide range of
issues raised by their bishops in 1998.
Meeting at the Vatican, the bishops had condemned sexual abuse within
the church and in society as a whole.

“John Paul’s message, said by the Vatican
to be the first personally sent by a pope over the Internet, also followed a
series of articles by the National Catholic Reporter quoting internal
Vatican reports about sexual abuse of nuns and other women by priests and
bishops.

“According to reports cited by the
U.S.-based weekly last spring, some priests and missionaries forced nuns to have
sex with them and, in several instances, committed rape and obliged the victims
to have abortions. The reports covered
cases in 23 countries, including the United States, the Philippines and Papua
New Guinea.

“The Vatican, in response to the articles,
acknowledged that the problem existed and said an investigation was under way.

“Thursday’s papal message to Australia,
New Zealand and far-flung South Pacific islands went much further.

“’In certain parts of Oceania,’ John Paul
said, ‘sexual abuse by some clergy has caused great suffering and spiritual
harm to the victims. It has been very
damaging in the life of the church.

“’Sexual abuse within the church is a
profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ,’ the pope
said, adding that the church wishes to ‘apologize unreservedly to the victims
for the pain and disillusionment caused to them.’

“The church, he said, is seeking ‘open and
just procedures to respond to complaints in this area’ and is committed to ‘compassionate
and effective care for the victims, their families, the whole community and the
offenders themselves.’

“John Paul’s promise of ‘open
and just procedures’ also answered a demand raised at the Vatican last month by
Sister Mary Sujita Kallupurakkathy, superior general of the Sisters of Notre
Dame in India.” (By Richard Boudreaux, Orlando Sentinel, November 23, 2001)

“Billboard upsets Catholics: Oregon Roman Catholics are demanding
removal of a highway billboard that claims ‘The Pope is the Antichrist.’ The sign on Interstate 5 near Medford was
rented by Larry Weathers, an elder at Rogue Valley Historical Seventh-day
Adventist Church, a small group that is distinct from the main Seventh-day Adventist
Church.

“’We’re not against Catholics or against
their religion, just the political, religious organization of the Vatican,’
said Weathers, a barber.” (Orlando
Sentinel, August 11, 2001)

“CHURCHES CONSIDER
UNION: LONDON - The Church of England and the Methodist Church
should get ‘engaged’ and work toward a reunion to heal their 2-centuries-old
split, a joint report said Wednesday.
The report by Anglican bishop Barry Rogerson of Bristol and the Rev.
John Taylor, past president of the Methodist Conference in Britain, proposed a
covenant between the two churches affirming their mutual life and
ministry. Commitments outlined in the
covenant include continuing to welcome each other’s baptized members to
participate in the fellowship, worship and mission of the churches.”

(Orlando Sentinel, December 13, 2001)

METHODIST: “ADS TO TARGET UNCHURCHED: It rained today. Does that sentence make you want to go to
church? The United Methodist Church is
betting $20 million that it will. It’s part
of a four-year national ad campaign that starts Tuesday for the nation’s
second-largest Protestant denomination.
The theologically gentle but culturally edgy ads are aimed at about a
third of Americans - the unchurched, mostly
boomers and Gen-Xers who feel burned by organized religion.

“For
some, the unprecedented campaign can’t start too soon in a church that has lost
a quarter of its membership since 1965.”
(Wire Reports, September 22, 2001)

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN: “CHURCH REVENUE PLUMMETS: Leaders of the Church of the Brethren are
‘seriously concerned and disappointed’ that revenue dropped 20 percent in the
141,000-member denomination. As of July
31, giving to the church’s General Ministries Fund stood at $1.9 million, down
from $2.5 million during the same period last year. The General Ministries Fund covers most
activities for the church.

“The Church of the Brethren is one of
three churches - along with the Mennonites and the Amish -with roots in the Anabaptist tradition of 18th-century
Switzerland and Germany. The church is
known, in part, for its involvement with peace causes.”